


In a Pinch

by HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda



Series: Rough Crows Have Soft Feathers [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Rough Crows Have Soft Feathers, Tickling, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 18:25:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19011376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda/pseuds/HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda
Summary: *I'd say I wrote this in 2018, but this thing took me a year (possibly 2) to actually finish, so let's say 2017





	In a Pinch

It was the weekend after the loss against Aoba Johsai in the first Inter-High tournament.

These sessions at Suga’s house were supposed to keep morale up and help the team stay bonded, but even with the casual air, the loss still seemed to weigh on everyone’s shoulders. It was especially unfortunate, considering this seemed to be a rare weekend where all eleven members of the team could spend the night

Eleven?

Suga took a moment to count heads again while everyone talked or watched the second-years play video games. Including himself, there were only eleven of them.

“Tsukishima-kun.” He called softly, leaning to rest his hands on his knees when the blonde sitting on the floor looked up from his phone. “Yamaguchi isn’t coming tonight?” When the first-year shook his head, Suga stood back up a bit sadly, resting his chin on one hand; their pinch server had been absent from the last two days of practice. “Is he alright?”

Behind his glasses, Tsukishima’s eyes actually softened. “Could I, um… Could I talk to you, Suga-san?”

“Of course.” The setter nodded immediately, motioning for his junior to follow as he stepped into the hallway.

The tall blonde slipped his phone into his pocket and walked out after him, and they settled in Suga’s kitchen. Tsukishima toyed with his fingers and sighed quietly as his senior looked at him expectantly.

“Tadashi, he… He was really devastated after that match.” He explained softly, “Honestly, I-I’ve never seen him so upset. It’s almost like he shut down.”

“…Has he been going to class, at least?” Suga asked gently, not trying to hide the sad concern in his eyes.

Tsukishima nodded. “I still run into him in the halls, but he’s avoiding the others. He goes straight home after school ends too.”

“It’s only been a couple of days… We should get him back as soon as possible.”

“I don’t know, senpai.” The blonde sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets. “He seemed, um, broken… I’m not sure if we should force it.”

“And I don’t intend to. Trust me; I’ve known Asahi long enough to know the type.” The older boy grinned, patting Tsukishima’s shoulder. “Tell him to come see me tomorrow afternoon if he has the time. I’ll send the others home early.

The blonde seemed a bit hesitant, but he sighed softly and pulled out his phone. “Alright, Sugar. I’m counting on you though, okay?”

Sugawara rolled his eyes at that cursed nickname, but he smiled gratefully.

The next morning, the others were a little disappointed at being asked to leave early, but most of them had agreed that Yamaguchi would probably do better with a one-on-one talk before bringing everyone in. They’d broken off into groups to come up with some back-up plans on their way down the sidewalk.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay with this?” Tsukishima asked softly, hands in his pockets.

Sugawara couldn’t help giggling. “I didn’t realize you actually cared so much about someone. Y’know, you could stay if you’re that concerned.”

The taller boy blushed, fiddling with his glasses and looking away. “I trust you, senpai.” He murmured half-heartedly. “Just be nice to him, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Tsukki, he’s in good hands; I promise.”

He smiled just slightly and chuckled, waving casually as he finally left. Sugawara closed the door and went about cleaning up as much as he could to make sure Tadashi knew this was a personal meeting.

An hour passed, and the third year started to grow a bit suspicious. He checked the time on his phone again, almost about to call Tsukishima himself when he finally heard the doorbell ring. He descended the staircase, a slight pout on his face as he opened the door to his slightly taller junior.

The pinch server cringed immediately upon seeing his senior’s disappointed look. “I-I, um… Tsukki said you wanted to meet with me.” He mumbled softly, apparently unable to look him in the eye.

Suga eyed him curiously, but he sighed softly and stood aside for him to enter. “Yeah, I do. Come in, Tadashi.” He said gently, motioning him inside and leaning slightly on the door.

Yamaguchi blushed faintly at his senior using his first name like that, but he still moved as though he were afraid. Koushi rolled his eyes and pulled him gently, closing the door behind him and leading him to the stairs once his shoes were off.

“So, what have you been up to anyway?” The setter called casually, glancing over his shoulder as they stepped into the game room. “Hardly anyone on the team’s seen you since our last game.”

The first-year stood guiltily in the doorway before moving to sit in the beanbag chair Suga pointed to. Sugawara sat across from him, patting his lap and grinning slightly. Yamaguchi blushed and avoided eye contact with him again, but he obeyed the nonverbal command anyway, lifting his legs and resting his ankles on his senior’s lap. The silver-haired boy’s fingers dragged gently down the sole of Tadashi’s foot, drawing circles in the material of his sock while his free hand massaged his foot.

“You still haven’t answered my question, kouhai.” Suga said softly, glancing up at him.

“Well, I… I’ve just been a bit busy lately. My parents have been asking me to do…stuff.” He flinched and bit his lip as a quiet giggle slipped out of him. He looked nervously at the setter holding his ankles, his legs shivering with the teasing shapes being drawn on his sole.

“What kind of stuff, Tadashi?” Suga asked, smiling patiently and dragging his fingers up slowly toward his toes. “More chores and the like?” He wiggled them a bit faster, his thumb pressing gently to spread the toes apart. “Think you’ll catch a break soon? We all miss you already.”

Yamaguchi shuddered and started to laugh, his socked toes curling as he covered his face. “That can’t be true…” He said quietly, trying to move his feet. Koushi’s grip on his ankle tightened, and the setter smirked as he tickled in earnest.

“Of course it’s true.” He assured him. “Noya misses your determination; Kageyama misses how focused you are; Asahi misses your praise; Daichi misses how good you are at keeping Hinata calm; Coach misses how you always listen; and Tsukki misses his best friend.”

The guilt was clearly written all over Yamaguchi’s face, even despite his helpless laughter; and it almost made Sugawara feel guilty for pushing him.

“And I miss having someone to compete with; you’re a rambunctious little thing off the court, Yamaguchi.” His fingers slowed for just a second before digging into the taller boy’s arches. “It’s not as fun without you around. We all miss your smile.”

It was a bittersweet statement to make, and Koushi lightened up his touch as he saw the tears running down his teammate’s face.

“It’s my fault…” He mumbled faintly, quiet giggles still slipping out as he tried not to cry outright.

“You know that isn’t true.” Sugawara sighed, going back to massaging Tadashi’s feet. “Losing a game is never on the head of one particular teammate unless you do something crazy like throwing an actual fit in the middle of the game and getting us disqualified.” The setter played gently with the pinch server’s toes, smiling back at him. “I can’t picture you doing anything like that, can you?”

“But, my serve, senpai… It was the one job I had, and I let you all down.” Koushi rolled his eyes and pulled Yamaguchi’s ankles until the taller boy was dragged deeper into his beanbag chair.

“Listen, Tadashi. I understand. We have all been there: thinking that everything on the court is suddenly on our shoulders. I completely dropped a set during a match my first year; our normal setter had fallen on his wrist and I was just thrown out there with no warning. You were there when Hinata practically had a panic attack at our first practice with Aoba Johsai, and you know Asahi can be sensitive about things like this; heck, he left us for half a year.”

Yamaguchi cringed and looked away, biting his lip as things ran through his mind.

“I don’t want to see the same thing happen with you. We know you’ve been trying, but you can’t let the first mistake get you down. You have to decide, Yamaguchi. Do you want to get better at your serve? Or do you want to quit?”

The idea of quitting seemed to light something in the younger player’s eyes as he looked back up. He looked hurt at the mere suggestion, as if something would be taken away from him in that instance.

“I…” He said, worry in his voice. “I don’t want to quit, but…”

Suga cut him off, smirking slightly. “I’m sorry, what? I must have misheard you.”

Yamaguchi hesitated a bit, and Sugawara sat back to give him the space and time he needed. “I don’t want to quit, senpai.” He said firmly, sitting up and giving the faintest hint of a smile as he wiped his face with the heel of his hand.

The setter gave him a playful cuff on his shoulder, ruffling his hair. “Of course, now that we know you’re staying, there’s the matter of your penalties for skipping practice.” He teased, smirking a bit deviously.

Tadashi blushed faintly, smiling shyly and covering his face. “Is that why you called me here? To cheer me up so you could punish me?”

“As much as I’d love to say yes, I won’t. We’ll save that for the next session.” Suga picked up the pinch server’s ankles again, leaning back in his chair. “Instead, let’s focus on getting that smile to stick a bit better.” He teased, starting to tickle him again.

Yamaguchi didn’t try to hold back like he usually did, immediately starting to giggle again and curling his toes when those spidering fingers got close to them. Koushi didn’t waste any time, repositioning his hands to pin back his junior’s toes and scribble between them. Tadashi cried out and started to laugh, unable to keep from squirming and flailing his hands a bit.

“I always forget how sensitive you are, kouhai.” Suga teased, trying to wrap an arm around the struggling ankles. “And this isn’t even your weak spot. Should I check on those legs of yours while I’ve got you here?” He asked tauntingly, grinning as he watched the blush creep over Yamaguchi’s face.

“N-No, that’s not fair!” the first-year squealed.

“Oh, I don’t know~ You’ll need to be able to jump pretty well for your serve to get better, right?” Sugawara teased, one hand dragging its nails up over his ankle and the side of his shin. “We should at least see how strong they are, right?”

Yamaguchi shook his head, but Sugawara was too close for him to try to squirm away, already pouncing on him and scribbling across the backs of his knees. He laughed brightly, trying to struggle, but unable to escape his teammate’s hold. Even during normal sessions, he couldn’t recall Suga being that strong. The pinch server’s hands pawed at the chair around him, partially resigned to his fate of their team’s resident tickle monster reaching the weak spot on his thighs. He squealed in surprise, blushing brightly as Suga laughed at him, and he realized the setter had only squeezed at his kneecaps.

“Y-You aren’t going to…” He murmured as he giggled helplessly, not really wanting to encourage him.

“Nope.” Suga smirked, sitting back. “I’ll save that for someone who can really make you scream. How are you feeling?”

“Hm? Oh, um, a bit better, I guess? …I wasn’t going to quit, senpai. At least, I don’t think I was.”

The setter shrugged, smiling. “Well, you can still think about it. Not like I can stop you one way or the other. But if you do stay… the others are going to have a field day with you at the next session.”

The taller boy smiled and nodded, leaning back in the chair and sighing. “…Do you really think Tsukki missed me?” He asked softly, blushing.

Sugawara laughed. “Most of all, Tadashi.”

**Author's Note:**

> *I'd say I wrote this in 2018, but this thing took me a year (possibly 2) to actually finish, so let's say 2017


End file.
